Kozlov Scores Lone Goal in Shootout to Lead Thrashers Over Panthers

Slava Kozlov scored the lone goal in the shootout to help the Atlanta Thrashers beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Monday night.

Olli Jokinen scored his 28th and 29th goals and had an assist for the Panthers, who now head home for a three game homestand in Sunrise.

Marian Hossa added a goal and an assist for the Thrashers, who won their second straight game. Atlanta has won six of its last eight and remain in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Montreal, which lost 5-4 in a shootout at Philadelphia.

Kozlov, who gave the Thrashers' their last shootout win Feb. 11 at Montreal, beat Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo with a glove-side wrister.

Kari Lehtonen had four of his 40 saves in overtime, the best coming when he dropped to stop Jokinen's wrister with his right leg pad.

Luongo saved 31 of 34 shots, including two in overtime.

Brad Larsen's short-handed goal gave the Thrashers a 3-2 lead with 16:28 left in regulation. Hossa was largely responsible, as he made a one-handed pass to himself off the left boards to beat Jokinen.

After Hossa's wrister bounced off Luongo's skate and off to the right side of the slot, Larsen beat the goalie glove side.

Jokinen tied it at 3-all with 5:01 remaining.

Greg de Vries gave the Thrashers a 1-0 lead with his seventh goal, a slap shot from the top of the slot 2:48 into the first.

Jokinen, the subject of trade talk as the NHL faces a 3 p.m. Thursday deadline, tied it at 1-all with his 28th goal, with a slap shot from the point outside the left circle.

Hossa's 30th goal gave the Thrashers a 2-1 lead at the 14:29 mark of the first period.

Martin Gelinas burst from the penalty box midway through the second to force a 2-all tie. Just six seconds after leaving the penalty box, Gelinas was ready to take Chris Gratton's pass over the blue line, but the puck took an advantageous bounce off the skate of Atlanta defenseman Andy Sutton.

Gelinas beat Lehtonen on a breakaway for his 12th goal.

Notes: In six games against Atlanta this season, Jokinen has seven points, including a career-tying, three-assist performance in the Thrashers' 6-4 win Feb. 4. ... Lehtonen had a broken stick on Gelinas' goal. ... Atlanta has won three straight shootouts.